The Jerome Township Board of Trustees approved development plans for several subsections of Jerome Park, a multi-use area at the intersection of U.S. 42 and U.S. 33, Tuesday night. Jerome Park will have office and retail spaces, along with multi-family dwellings. The only lot currently slated to be developed will have an OhioHealth office building, depicted above.
(Graphic submitted)
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The Jerome Township Board of Trustees began the year with a busy slate of zoning hearings.
During Tuesday’s meeting, development plans for a multi-use business park and plans for a residential neighborhood were approved. Two proposed map amendments also came before the board, which closed the hearings without rendering decisions.
Though Trustee Barry Adler recused himself from the hearing, those present unanimously voted to approve a development plan for Jerome Park Subareas A and E.
The plans will allow for the development of an OhioHealth office building at the corner of U.S. 42 and U.S. 33, along with lot splits for local and regional retail uses, multi-family dwellings and additional office and retail space.
“This is a cornerstone project for the township,” said Laura Comek, attorney for the property owner, Homewood Corporation.
Jerome Township Zoning Inspector Eric Snowden said Subarea A will be further divided into six lots, specifically for medical office and retail uses.
Subarea A1, which is the only area currently slated to be developed, is on the northwestern portion of the property. Illustrations depict an OhioHealth office building on the lot.
Snowden said Subarea E, on the northeastern side of the property, will have 108 housing units.
Comek said the main reason the development plan appeared before the board at this stage was a desire from Homewood Corporation to establish the location of a new road.
The unnamed road, referred to by Comek as simply “Road A” will run east-west through the property.
The purpose of the road, she said, is to divert traffic from U.S. 42.
Comek said original development plans projected a different location for the road, contingent on negotiations with neighboring property owners. When those fell through, she said the road was moved to the “preferred ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) location.”
She noted that Homewood Corporation will be responsible for creating a signalized intersection at U.S. 42.
In response to a question from Trustee Wezlynn Davis, Comek said “all of the road” will be funded by private developers.
She added that it will be completed in “one very long phase” in an attempt to minimize the impact of construction.
Comek said a traffic study surrounding the development is “up for final approval” by ODOT and the Union County Engineer’s Office.
The developer’s intent is to begin construction in April and complete the road by the end of the summer, Comek explained.
The trustees voted 2-0 to approve the development plan, with the condition that signage shall meet all requirements in the regulation text.
Adler also recused himself from a hearing surrounding the development plan for a new section of an existing residential development.
Mitchell Highlands Section 4 will add 31 detached single-family dwellings on a property on Industrial Parkway, northwest of the Highlands Avenue and Camberly Avenue intersection.
The houses will line one road, Durham Court, which has a cul-de-sac at either end, according to a staff review from the Jerome Township Zoning Department.
Snowden said 0.67 acres of the 10.85-acre area will be dedicated to open space.
While this specific section has a small amount of green space, he emphasized that the entire Mitchell Highlands development meets the township’s requirement with 44.25 of 102.55 acres proposed for open space.
Davis asked if the landscaping installed must match what is shown in the development plan.
“Typically, we have allowed a very small amount of variation,” Snowden replied, adding that trees must be the appropriate type and height, but a slightly different species would likely still comply.
He also noted that the plans call for landscaping on individual lots, so it must be added when the house is being constructed.
Trustee Chair Megan Sloat and Davis voted in favor of the development plan.
The Board also heard applications for two map amendments intended to bring outdated zoning areas into compliance.
“I would characterize this as a map clean-up type of situation,” Snowden said.
The zoning inspector explained that a 2.89-acre parcel on Jerome Road at Hill Road was subject to an approved lot split, which created two lots that are smaller than permitted in the Rural Residential District.
To bring the lots, which have one dwelling and one currently under construction, into compliance, zoning staff recommended rezoning the area to Low Density Residential.
Similarly, staff recommended rezoning the lot at 10517 Faulk Street from Planned Development District to Medium Density Residential District.
Snowden explained that the land was originally part of the Jerome Village Planned Development District. That zoning requires a development plan for any improvements.
Rezoning the site will allow the single-family dwelling that currently exists to become a permitted use and will ensure improvements, like the addition of a shed, do not require a full development plan.
In accordance with policy set by the previous board of trustees, members closed both hearings and will render a decision at their next meeting, Feb. 1.
While the Ohio Revised Code permits 20 days for a decision to be made, Davis and Adler requested that legal counsel review the policy that trustees always close a meeting and wait two weeks to vote.
While Davis said she feels the additional time would be helpful in more contentious hearings, she said minor changes such as the two map amendments proposed Tuesday could likely be expedited.